Solar- History

HISTORY OF SOLAR ENERGY

Revisiting Solar Power’s PastByCharles Smith

…efforts to design and construct devices for supplying renewable energy actually began some 100 years before that turbulent time–ironically, at the very height of the Industrial Revolution, which was largely founded on the promise of seemingly inexhaustible supplies of fossil fuels. Contrary to the prevailing opinion of the day, a number of engineers questioned the practice of an industrial economy based on nonrenewable energy and worried about what the world’s nations would do after exhausting the fuel supply….Learn more>>solarenergy.com

– 1767, First Solar CollectorIn the year 1767 a Swiss scientist named Horace-Benedict de Saussure created the first solar collector – an insulated box covered with three layers of glass to absorb heat energy. Saussure’s box became widely known as the first solar oven, reaching temperatures of 230 degrees fahrenheit…Learn more>>

– 1839, Photovolataic Effect DefinedIn 1839 a major milestone in the evolution of solar energy happened with the defining of the photovoltaic effect. A French scientist by the name Edmond Becquerel discovered… Learn more>>

-1873, Photo Conductivity of SeleniumIn 1873, Willoughby Smith discovered photoconductivity of a material known as selenium. The discovery was to be further extended in 1876 when the same man discovered that selenium produces solar energy. Attempts were made… Learn more>>exploringgreentechnology.com

History Of The Photovoltaic CellThe first practical photovoltaic (PV) cell was developed in 1954 by Bell Telephone researchers examining the sensitivity of a properly prepared silicon wafer to sunlight. Beginning in the late 1950s, PV cells were used to power U.S. space satellites. PV cells were next widely used for small consumer electronics like…learn more>> eia.doe.gov

The History Of Solar PowerBy Will Reece

…The history of photovoltaic energy (aka. solar cells) started way back in 1876. William Grylls Adams along with a student of his, Richard Day, discovered that when selenium was exposed to light, it produced electricity. An electricity expert, Werner von Siemens, stated that the discovery was “scientifically of the most far-reaching importance”. The selenium cells were not efficient, but it was proved that light, without heat or moving parts, could be converted into electricity.